Latest news with #MiamiSprintRace
NZ Autocar
16-05-2025
- Sport
- NZ Autocar
Lawson to build on Miami momentum as F1 returns to Imola
After a well-earned two-week break, Liam Lawson is back on track this weekend. He heads to the historic Imola Circuit for Round 7 of the 2025 Formula One World Championship — the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Lawson arrives in Italy fresh off his most encouraging weekend of the season in Miami. There he showed real promise despite limited preparation. Despite having never driven a lap around the tricky street circuit before the sole Practice session, the 23-year-old Kiwi adapted quickly. He finished just outside the Top 10 in 11th. Sprint Qualifying didn't quite go to plan. He did well to make it through to SQ2, he couldn't quite piece together a lap good enough for SQ3. Therefore, he lined up 14th for the Sprint. When Saturday's race finally got underway in the wet, he made a lightning start, jumping five spots. Liam Lawson during the Miami Sprint Race. Image: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool From there, he kept charging, climbing to eighth at the flag. He was later promoted to seventh following a penalty for Max Verstappen. That result looked to have sealed Liam's first points of the season. However, a post-race penalty for a tangle with Fernando Alonso cruelly dropped him back to 13th. In Grand Prix Qualifying, he again showed flashes of pace — a strong banker lap in Q1 comfortably saw him through to the next phase, though a single flyer in Q2 left him starting 15th. Sadly, his Sunday didn't last long, with contact from Jack Doohan at Turn 1 causing heavy damage and eventually forcing him to retire. While the ending in Miami was far from ideal, the overall performance marked a real step forward, so there's every reason to be optimistic heading to Imola. Not only is it the home track of the VCARB squad, it's also a place Lawson knows well. He has logged plenty of laps there in Red Bull's testing programme over the past few years. He also raced at Imola in Formula 2 back in 2022, so he'll be returning with a solid base of experience under his belt. Liam Lawson and Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar. Image: Sebastian Nevols / Red Bull Content Pool This weekend also brings a return to the traditional Formula One format — three Practice sessions, followed by Qualifying and Sunday's Grand Prix. That should give him plenty of time to get acclimatised to the VCARB 02 before cracking into Qualifying. Lawson's weekend begins with Free Practice 1 tonight at 11:30 pm NZT. You can catch all the sessions live on Sky Sport or the F1 TV App. And, as always, we'll keep you updated across our socials throughout the weekend. Header Image: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Newsweek
04-05-2025
- Automotive
- Newsweek
Charles Leclerc Reacts to Miami Sprint Race Crash Amid Lewis Hamilton's Podium Finish
Ferrari's Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc gets ready before the 2025 Miami Formula One Sprint at Miami International Autodrome in Miami Gardens, Florida, on May 3, 2025. Ferrari's Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc gets ready before the 2025 Miami Formula One Sprint at Miami International Autodrome in Miami Gardens, Florida, on May 3, 2025. Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc crashed out of the Miami Sprint Race before it started, as rain poured onto the track and he lost control during the tire warm-up laps. The early part of Saturday was marked by rainfall, with conditions likely more suitable for wet tires than the intermediate tires on Leclerc's car. The large puddles of standing water increased by the second, causing Leclerc to aquaplane and completely lose control against one of the many walls on the Miami street track. He was set to start the sprint race in P6, where he could have captured a potential podium finish given the shifting conditions. "There could be many, many reasons, but at the end of the day, I'm the one behind the wheel," Leclerc told the media after his crash. "So, I mean, it's a mistake and a big one because, obviously, on the lap to the grid, that's never what you want. "I was completely out of control in the back straight. "I wasn't even flat out, so I wasn't trying to push in the straights, but there was a lot of aquaplaning, and the car was just not responding to anything I was doing anymore, and it was the wall." Charles Leclerc hits the wall!! 😱 With rain falling heavily, Leclerc sustains heavy damage on his way to the grid after contact with the wall#F1 #F1Sprint #MiamiGP — Formula 1 (@F1) May 3, 2025 The race eventually got underway, and Leclerc's teammate Lewis Hamilton captured a podium finish based on the seven-time world champion's bold decision to come in earlier for slick tires. The rain subsided quickly during the race, and the humid heat allowed the track to dry rapidly. Ferrari got the strategy right and pitted Hamilton at the right time, which could have likely led to at least a P4 finish for Leclerc. Hamilton was not particularly fast either, struggling to stay ahead of Williams' car, which resulted in the drastic tire choice. After his second podium with the Scuderia, Hamilton noted how he and Ferrari had decided. Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving the (16) Scuderia Ferrari SF-25 on track during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Miami at Miami International Autodrome on May 02, 2025 in Miami, Florida. Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving the (16) Scuderia Ferrari SF-25 on track during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Miami at Miami International Autodrome on May 02, 2025 in Miami, Florida."I really, really did struggle on the inters. I think everyone was struggling on them and I just, I made that call at the end. I was like, 'I'm coming in because I was going nowhere," he said. "So, take the risk, take the gamble and it paid off. I wish we had another couple of laps to give these guys (Norris and Piastri) a bit of a fight, but, you know, big congrats to McLaren as always. "I was so happy, really, really happy with the results to get up here, because it wasn't looking very good through qualifying. "Obviously, we were a chunk off these guys and then to get onto the inters, I was just sliding around. "I had the Williams behind me, I think, and there was another one behind him who was most likely to get overtaken by. So, I was like, I've got to roll the dice. "I was full lock through turn 12 and full lock through turn 16 and it still wasn't turning, so I was like, let's just go for it. Honestly, I should have done it maybe a lap or two before that."
